Building community for climate solutions

Victorian multicultural communities are showing their deep concerns over climate change. Through listening deeply, we can empower community-led climate solutions.

This year we have been reaching out to more multicultural communities across Melbourne. From Dandenong to Wyndham City, Environment Victoria Action Network volunteers have been on the ground building new relationships with community leaders.

Recently, we have held deep climate conversations with members of the Chinese senior community in Noble Park, and Indian senior community in Tarneit. It’s been powerful to hear their stories about climate change impacts as well as ideas for community-led solutions.

We’ve also had international students get involved with the Action Network and help facilitate ‘table talks’ for the first time. Shout out to our passionate new volunteers Helen Chen, Gloria Gu, Yu Tao and Zhenxuan Xu for working together and capturing stories from diverse communities.

In August, Sudha Narayan, former project coordinator at Multicultural Women Victoria, also brought together 24 community leaders for a roundtable meeting in Tarneit. Together, we discussed Environment Victoria’s campaigns, what’s happening locally and the top environment and climate priorities in the local area. With so much enthusiasm for joining forces on environmental issues, we’re fired up to turn these conversations into more action in this part of Melbourne’s west!

Clockwise from top: Table talk with Sudha in Tarneit; Welcoming new volunteers; Table talk discussion with Tarneit “Club 60

Multicultural community members, especially those who came to Australia as first-generation migrants, often have unique experiences of climate impacts, such as losing access to drinking water and forced climate migration. Many support stronger climate action, but often have limited resources and time to push for local solutions. So our hope is that these table talks can create exciting new opportunities for mutual collaboration and allow us to push for climate solutions together.

We have big plans to scale up our engagement with multicultural communities in outer western Melbourne and will be organising more events to promote climate solutions that have the backing of the community. 

This article was first published in the Spring 2024 edition Environment Victoria News. Read it here >>